Chapter 2
Complete Nutrition in Sixty Seconds
Your body has to have the proper food to function. To your body, food is not a sandwich or a plate of pasta, but the tiny components that help make up those foods: vitamins and minerals. Think of it like this: Would you expect your car to start and run properly each day if you never put enough oil or gas in it? Of course not. You can’t expect your body to run without the proper nutrients.
Vitamins and minerals are absolutely essential. Imagine that each of the bazillion cells of your body has a furnace. Vitamins and minerals are the fuel for these microscopic furnaces-your cells burn them in complex chemical reactions that give your body life. Without fuel, these complex chemical reactions can’t take place, and your body will begin to break down. At first, this deterioration may not be as obvious as your car running out of gas, but over time you’ll notice a lack of health and energy, and a slowness to heal.
Patients often tell me that they eat enough, so they don’t think they need to use vitamin and mineral supplements. You may eat enough (actually, most Americans eat too much), but how nutritious is the food you eat? What is the day’s nutritional value of, say, a bowl of sugary cereal for breakfast, a fast-food lunch, and a microwaved dinner? Not what your body needs for the day, that’s for sure.
I believe it is impossible to get all the fuel your body needs from the food you eat, even if your diet consists entirely of organically grown, naturally produced fresh foods that are not packaged or processed. Do you know anyone with a diet like that? Neither do I. Supplements are the only way to ensure that you’re getting the fuel you need for optimal health.
How will taking supplements affect long-term health? Let me ask you this: Does your car last longer if you change the oil and lube it regularly? Of course it does. So will your body, if you give it the proper supplements. Not only will you have more energy, but your body will have all the building blocks it needs to replace damaged cells (remember, your cells are constantly being replaced).
Would you ask a bricklayer to build your house without enough bricks, or without mortar? No, you would not. Don’t ask your body to rebuild its damaged cells, day after day, year after year, without the vitamins and minerals it needs to do the job.
Now you understand why you need to take supplements. But which supplements should you take? Take a supplement that’s all natural, with no sugar or artificial colors. Learn to read the label. One brand I won’t name has such good advertising that lots of people take it, but it’s really not that good. A large, expensive advertising campaign is not the place to go to find solid information about good vitamins.
Good vitamin tablets can be large and expensive. They’re usually large because their all-natural ingredients are not so condensed and compressed that your body can’t break the pill down. You can cut or crush them. Good vitamins also usually smell terrible (another result of using all-natural ingredients), so hold your nose. And good vitamins usually cost more. But in this case, you really do get what you pay for. That doesn’t mean you have to buy the most expensive brand, but it does mean you should choose the best vitamin that will fit your budget. This investment in your most precious possession-your health-will save you money in the long run, in your healthier older years.
The science of supplementation is very complex. Vitamins and minerals work together to fuel those little fires in the furnaces of your cells. Too much of one vitamin or not enough of another can affect how well and how steadily that fire burns.
As a general rule, take a high-potency multivitamin, multimineral supplement daily, as well as extra vitamin C. “High-potency” means at least twice the required daily amount, or RDA. (Most people don’t know that the RDA is how much of a given substance your body needs for basic functions under conditions of no stress and no illness. Do you know anyone like that?) Add other supplements if you need them and can afford to. Most health-food stores have well-trained supplement salespeople who can help you choose a multivitamin. Even better, consult a nutritionist well versed in supplementation.
You might add extra coenzyme- Q and vitamin E for your heart, glucosamine and chondrotin for joint health, calcium and magnesium for bone strength. The list goes on and on. Talk to a nutritionist or read a book on vitamins and their use.
Many people say they don’t have time to eat right. Fortunately, it takes only a minute to down your vitamins in the morning. Keep your supplements somewhere that you’ll see them, so you’ll remember to take them. Or put them near your toothbrush, on the breakfast table, or near your car keys-anyplace you look each morning will do. I keep mine by the coffeepot.
Always read the label. Most vitamin dosages are based on taking more than one tablet at a time. Some vitamin bottles tell you to split the dose into one tablet three times a day. I find that this doesn’t work for most people, who are out of the house all day. I’d much rather see you take all three tablets together in the morning than to have you take only one a day because that’s all you can conveniently remember.
Taking vitamins every day is one of the best ways to ensure future good health. Make a promise to yourself to stop by the health-food store and stock up on fuel for your body.
Further Reading
Nutritional Almanac, by Lavon J. Dunne
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